When Executive Chef Cynthia Romstadt first moved to Texas to work for Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, she was inspired by the local cuisine, a blend of authentic Mexican and truly Texan flavor.
“Coming from a small town in North Carolina, and then Iowa, I experienced new ingredients of the Tex-Mex cuisine with fresh eyes and senses,” she says, “I’m very much a pantry-inspired chef, and the pantry at Colonial sang to me.”
One of the dishes she’s created since then that she’s most proud of us her Texas wagyu-stuffed poblano pepper, featuring a roasted tomatillo salsa, crispy tortilla slaw, avocado-lime crema, corn and black bean pico de gallo, pickled red onions and cilantro. The poblanos are slow-roasted, peeled and seeded in-house. The filling is made of bomba rice, seasoned and house-ground Texas wagyu beef, and a three-cheese blend.
“The secret is the quality of ingredients and the balance of textures, colors, flavors and sensations from hot spices and cool crema,” Romstadt says. “There’s a common perception that Mexican food is both spicy and heavy but, in fact, true Mexican food has both a depth of flavor—with its combination of savory and earthy flavors—and a fresh, lightness from its generous use of fresh herbs, vegetables and citrus. This dish is smokey and cheesy with acidity from the salsa and pickled onions, crunchy from the tortilla slaw, earthy and sweet from the pico and cooling from the fresh cilantro and avocado cream.”
Romstadt notes that the dish is both quick to pick up in an a la carte or banquet setting and cost-effective, as it utilizes the premium trim from cutting beef tenderloins in-house. The concept is simple, while the plating is more upscale.
“As simple as it may seem, I’m proud of this dish for cross-utilizing several other ingredients on the menu,” she says. “I’m also proud to cook more food that is typically outside of my comfort zone, as I’m more of a southern cuisine and German comfort food Chef. Cooking is a lifelong learning process, and there is always something new to discover and master.”